Gus Warbington huge mute backside air in one of the rare sun breaks. p: Tim Zimmerman

words: Max Warbington

photos: Tim Zimmerman and Max Warbington

Max Warbington’s Quarterpipe Campout was an event that took place in may of 2016 at a lovely place in Oregon called Mt. Bachelor. It was an event that in all reality never should have happened. When you hear people use expressions like “when pigs fly” or “when the stars align,” this is normally the type of happening they are referring to.

Morning of may 14th. Riders showing up to some unexpected sunshine, a tipi, and some very good vibes. p: Max Warbington

View from the campsite on the day before the event. p: Max Warbington

Thanks to Gnu Snowboards, Airblaster, and most of all, Thomas Carpenter and the rest of the amazing Mt. Bachelor staff, we were able to pull off a truly organic, grassroots, amazingly special event. The opportunity was presented to me midseason as more of a “Hey, Max do you have any ideas for a fun, end-of-the-season event that could get some big name riders to Bachelor in the spring?” This was a very cool opportunity and I gave it a lot of thought and eventually came back with the idea of an event centered around a quarterpipe. The other main goal was to bring a new factor to the event by having everyone camp at the mountain the night after the session. The more thought I put into this event, the more I felt like I wanted to have more ownership of this awesome idea. I just needed to rally enough support to get this event under my control and with my name attached.

There is a reason Tucker Andrews took home the title of Wallride God and a cool 100 bucks. p: Tim Zimmerman

Some of the core setup/teardown crew. Nothing but smiles in the rain after having pulled off an awesome event. Thanks Boys! Boss, Logan Beaulieu, Tucker Andrews, Gus Warbington, Will Dennis. p: Max Warbington

Tyler Orton took his hand off the camera and put it to use. Picture perfect hand plant from the video master himself. p: Tim Zimmerman

After a lot of emails, meetings, and phone calls between Bachelor, myself and my amazing sponsors, we were able to work out an event that I was not only super excited about, but it was actually going to be under my name! Talk about a dream come true! Stoke level was through the roof and I hit the ground running trying to make Max Warbington’s Quarterpipe Campout as cool as possible. The idea was to create a really fun quarterpipe-y feature and just session it with a bunch of homies for two days! We just wanted to have fun with it and make sure that everyone who showed up was stoked. The goals: have a quick contest, funny awards, good party, film cool stuff, and pretty much bring everyone together at Bachy as a send off for the season.

It was a dog party, it was a snowboard party, it was a hell of a party. p: Tim Zimmerman

The Bachelor park crew absolutely killed it on the set up. As soon as we got a glimpse of it, we knew it was going to be so fun to ride. As people started showing up on the morning of the event, the stoke grew to an all-time high. For one thing, It was fully sunny and nice outside and the forecast had called for rain! As more and more homies flooded in, it began to turn into an amazing scene. Everyone was stoked on their custom FSBS (Frontside Backside by Forest Bailey) event t-shirts, exploring the yurt and the dog-filled tipi zone that was framed by a circle of cool campers and sketchy trucks, all the while, getting extremely hyped to hike up and see the setup.

Everyone soon found themselves strapped in up on the drop-in mound looking down at a perfect quarterpipe. A quick warm up session quickly gave way to the start of the “contest”. Riders were hungry to shred and the session popped off right away. Have to give a huge thank you to Jon Stark and Logan Beaulieu for providing the bulk of the incredible commentary throughout the boarding. People were not only loving the boarding, the comedy show over the mic had people laughing their asses off all event. We kept the contest going for a few hours then called it. Gus, Logy and I then got to jump in and start seshing with everyone. I think we rode for another two hours at least!

Winner of the Skiers' Choice award and all around bad boy, Dave Marx. Nosepick on the channel bar. p: Tim Zimmerman

I could go into detail about the tricks and all the craziness of the session but it is pretty much taken care of with the photos. Pretty much the main standout move of the event was when Stark’s dog Miki charged it straight up the middle of the QP, grabbed the deck with her two front paws and pulled herself up onto the deck. The crowd went more wild for that then for any snowboard move. Everyone ripped incredibly hard and somehow everyone even walked away injury free! It was an amazing session; the energy up there was something that I have only been around a very select amount of times. I cant thank Mt. Bachelor enough for making this all possible. <3

After the QP boarding was done, we gathered in the camp area and enjoyed some good food (thanks to Airblaster) while we warmed up by the fire. A snowskate sesh fired off for a while and there were more dogs around then you could count. Awards (and late night awards) were amazing and incredibly funny. People were stoked to find out that lots of the prize packs had cash in them. JD Dennis, the overall champion of the first-ever Max Warbington’s Quarterpipe Campout, took home some dope gear and $500 cash for his performance.

The idea for this event since the beginning was to throw a fun contest where you would do the event, do the awards, but then everyone just stays right there all night and shreds again the next day just for fun. We didn't really ride the next day due to “weather,” but everyone did stay up there all night and had a blast. Campfire songs and beer bongs lasted until the wee hours of the morning. Even though it began to rain/mist in the middle of the night, everyone kept the good times rolling despite the imminent cold, soggy morning.

JD Dennis took home the big w, winning tons of prizes like this custom Tre Squad beer bong and a surprise $500. Not a bad day if you ask me. p: Tim Zimmerman

JD 'The Tank' Dennis? Fill it up again? p: Tim Zimmerman

Haters will say its fake. JD Dennis for the win. p: Tim Zimmerman

Kent showing off his Best Trick trophy. Custom skate decks created by Max Warbington and Will Dennis, thanks to the awesome people at SnoPlanks.

Sloth or die, bitch. p: Tim Zimmerman

Even with the savage hangovers, I have never seen a more content group of people on a cold rainy morning. As everyone helped the Warbington family clean up the area and pack up the tipi, we all were in an amazing mood. I mean, we actually did it! We pulled off and amazing event and everyone had a blast. I don’t know if I have ever felt so thankful for and so proud of all my friends and family. This never would have been possible without them, the people from Bachelor, all my sponsors, and the sponsors of the event itself. You guys gave me an opportunity that not many people get and for that I am forever thankful. I had a blast, everyone who came had a blast, and I hope that all future attendees of Max Warbington’s Quarterpipe Campout will have a blast too.